Lateral-motion truck-bolster.



J. Jl SULLIVAN.

LATERAL MOTION TRUCK BOLSTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22.19|6.

Patented May 1, 1917.

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LATERAL MOTION TRUCK BOLSTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22. 1916.

Patented May 1, 1917.

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@l-fer@ f4 @FFtlFa LATERAL-IVIOTION TRUCK-'BOLSTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May il, 191'?.

Application led August 22, 1916. Serial No. 116,275.

To all lwhom z't may concern:

Be it lrnown that 1. JnnnMrAn J. SULLI- VAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee. have invented a new and lmproved Lateral-Motion Truck- Bolster, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention has for its object to provide a lateral motion truck bolster which is simple in construction and which,while permitting limited lateral play of a car or tender, serves under normal conditions to retain the center-plate supporting the car or tender bolster at the center line, and thereby hold the car or truck in place.

Additional objects of the invention will appear in the following specification, in which the preferred form of the invention is disclosed.

1n the drawings similar reference characters denote similar parts in all the views, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view illustrating my bolster;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 with the center-plate removed;

Fig. 3 is a central view on the line 8*3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view illustrating a modified form of the invention.

By referring to the drawings, it will be seen that a bolster 5 is mounted in the usual manner and is provided at its top with a recess 6, the bottom 7 of the recess having four longitudinally disposed channels 8, the side walls of each of these channels 8 diverging upwardly, so that rollers 10 which are disposed longitudinally in the recess 6 will normally be disposed at the center of the chan? nels 8, the rollers 10 rolling to these centers under the action of gravity. Disposed in the recess 6 there. is a center-plate 11 on which the body bolster of the car or tender is mounted, the body bolster being indicated in dotted lines at 12. v

rlhe bottom of the center-plate 11 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally disposed channels 13, the side walls 14 of which diverge downwardly above the upwardly diverging side walls 9 of the channels 8. The rollers 10 are normally disposed not only at the centers of the channels 8, but also at the centers of the channels 13, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

This construction serves to hold the centerplate 11 yieldingly in normal position, but permits the center-plate 11 to move laterally under abnormal conditions. However, this lateral movement of the center-plate 11 is limited by the side walls Ga with which the holster 5 is provided at the sides of the recess 6. Forward or backward movement of the center-plate 11 relatively to the bolster 5 is thereby prevented.

1n Fig. l of the drawings 1 illustrate a modiiied form of the invention, in which the bolster 15 is provided with a recess 16, the bottom 17 of which is inclined downwardly from both sides to the center longitudinal line of the bolster 15. In the same way the body 19 of the center-plate 18 is inclined downwardly from its sides to the center longitudinal line to correspond with the bottom 17 of the recess, gravity serving to hold the center-plate spaced from the side walls 16 with which the bolster 15 is provided at the sides of the recess, but permitting` the center-plate 18 under abnormal conditions to move up the inclined bottom 19 in the direction of one of the side walls 16. 1t will be understood that when the center-plate 18 has moved up one of the inclines, it will when conditions again become normal move downwardly to the center of normal position illustrated in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to vsecure by Letters Patent:

1. 1n an article of the class described, a bolster having a recess, there beinga longitudinally disposed channel in the bolster at the bottom of the recess, the sides et which diverge upwardly Jfrom a center-line, and a center-plate disposed in the recess with its sides normally spaced from the bolster at the sides of the recess, the center-plate having supporting means for moving against the diverging sides of the bottom of the recess for holding the center-plate yieldingly in said normal position.

2. 1n an article of the class described, a bolster having a recess, the holster at the bottom of the recess being inclined down- Wardly from its sides to a longitudinal center with the inclined bottoni of the recess and line, ani center-plate1 disposed 1iln the reci for the purpose speciied.

cess an avm its si es normaJ s ace from the bolste at the sides of tliye rlcess, JEREMIAH JOSEPH SULLIVAN' 5 the bottom of the center-plate being inclined Witnesses:

downwardly from its sides to a longitudiv J. P. MAY,

nally extending center line corresponding N. H. LAssITER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

